Oscha
Oscha were the rare result of humans being exposed to Warclema's physical laws before enough of their bodies' neutrons were replaced with watrons. They lost a permanent, organic form, and the ability to survive within the physics fields made by humans, but gained the ability to shape shift. Appearance Oscha are human-like brains encased within a shape shifting slime. The brain is made out of the same slime, but the oscha ceases to be alive when the brain shape shifts back to its natural form. Oschan Shape Shifting Oschan bodies are made up of an inorganic slime that can change its shape and chemical properties. This slime contains a large concentration of neutrons from our dimension, which are able to act as either a proton or neutron in response to certain electrical signals while exposed to Warclemian physics. This allows such a substance to mimic all kinds of other substances, both organic and inorganic. The electrical signals needed to control an oscha's body require a good amount of concentration to maintain, and a lapse in concentration will cause part of the body to revert back to its natural state until the concentration is restored. An oscha's brain will usually provide the concentration to keep it's form involuntarily, but is still susceptible to damage, whether through trauma or lack of nutrients. Oscha are almost never able to concentrate on their form well enough to completely avoid having any part of their body revert, so they are very reliant upon their nervous system to alert them to which parts have reverted. This and their ability to shape shift damaged parts into undamaged parts have led to them handling physical pain rather differently than humans do. Due to their shape shifting, oscha are difficult for many diseases to infect. Most diseases find that cells they've infected have lost their form due to the oscha's inattention, and then reverted back to their original, uninfected state. Oscha as Symbionts Oscha are often unable to keep a complex form for long, and so, they will often build themselves around other objects to provide body parts that they don't need to concentrate on. The simplest example of this behavior would be an oscha forming a skeletal system out of rocks and sticks. They might then go on to use strips of bark or grass to help form simple muscles. Often though, they will make use of the bodies of other creatures. Young oscha will rely upon a living host to learn about anatomy. Older oscha will often use a mix of body parts from various creatures. Oscha are often referred to as parasites by many sentient beings due to their reliance upon another organism's body. This often makes relationships with them difficult. Live Host Body Using a host body will often greatly reduce the amount of concentrating required to keep a form as they only need to maintain connections to the host's circulatory system to obtain nutrients. As the oscha learns more about how the host's body works, they will often try to move towards a more mutualistic relationship. They will start a mutualistic relationship by repairing small cuts and bruises and move on to whatever they think can help their host, whether it be extending limbs, redistributing body fat, providing extra grip, or anything else they can think of. A few times, the host will learn to create the brain signals that control an oscha's shape shifting. Due to the ease of surviving this way, oscha children are given a live host body to use when it is time for them to leave their parent's body. Zombie Host Body Sometimes, an oscha will use a dead organism's body. Doing so is much like using a live host body, but with a few differences. First of all, they have to get the body's organs to start working again and repair whatever damage caused the death and any damage due to decay. They then have to assume control over everything that the host's brain is no longer able to do. Sometimes this means actively controlling body parts that would normally be controlled autonomously. Mix and Match Body Using a mix of body parts requires that the oscha possesses some anatomical knowledge. Young oscha will often begin trying to incorporate parts of other creatures into their body while using a live host body, usually starting with an extra arm. As they gain skill at it, they may abandon their host. Oscha and Mating Oscha generally divide themselves into two mental genders, assertive and submissive. When dealing with languages that denote physical gender, Oscha will often decide to be considered as male if they're assertive and female if they're submissive, with most who don't follow this pattern simply choosing the one that will make whoever they are with more comfortable. Oscha often believe that the most compatible matings are made between a single assertive and one or more submissives. Oscha will usually judge potential mates on intellect, shape shifting ability, and personality. They never judge by appearance due to them being used to mating with beings whose appearance can change at any time. They also see nothing wrong with interspecies mating. Oschan Reproduction Oscha's also use their shape shifting ability to reproduce. Two or more oscha will come together to try to form a new brain through shape shifting. That new brain will slowly learn how to form a body out of oscha slime, but until then, it will rely upon another oscha to act as a host body to it. Oscha can also use this method to reproduce with another species that has learned how to control oscha slime, but the result will always be another oscha. Oschan Fashion Oscha see clothes as an easy way to make themselves more recognizable due to how easy it is to customize them and how they don't shape shift. As such, an oscha is more likely to change their body than their clothes. An oscha will usually wear a simple cloak of a single color that they've decorated with various objects. Bits of previous hosts bodies that the host discarded, such as hair, shed skin, feathers, and nail trimmings are the most popular choices of decoration. The inside of the cloak is covered with pockets that are used to hold various things that they might shape shift around. Numerous pockets will have holes to stick tubes through. In an emergency, an oscha can even unsew their cloak to obtain thread to use for sewing body parts together or shut so that they won't be affected as much by the oscha's body reverting back into slime. Notabl Cultural and Psychological Differences Between Oscha and Humans Oscha have no uncanny valley reaction. The cultural equivalent to a hug for an oscha is a sharing of bodies. Their cultural equivalent to a romantic kiss or sex for purposes besides reproduction is linking their minds together directly. They also don't have much of a concept of personal space. Category:Creatures Category:Warclema